V. I. Lenin

Speech to the Moscow Gubernia Congress of Soviets, Poor Peasants’ Committees and District Committees of the Russian Communist Party 
(Bolsheviks)

December 8, 1918

Brief Newspaper Report

Delivered:8 December, 1918First Published:11 December, 1918,IzvestiaNo. 271; Published according to theIzvestiatextSource:Lenin’sCollected Works, 4th English
    Edition, Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1972 Volume 28, page 328Translated:Jim RiordanTranscription/HTML Markup:David Walters & Robert
    CymbalaOnline Version:Lenin Internet
    ArchiveMay, 2002

(Storm of applause.) Lenin began his speech by saying that events of the past few weeks in Austria and Germany had gone to show that in our estimation of the international situation we had been right to base our policy on a precise, lucid and proper account of all the consequences of the four year war, which, from being a battle of capitalists for dividing up their spoils, had turned into a battle between them and the workers of the world. The revolution had had a hard time starting in Western Europe, but once it had done so it had been developing more rapidly, surely and orderly than our.

Speaking of the labour movement in other countries which is coming to our aid Comrade Lenin called for an all-out effort and said that every month of our existence, which we were defending at so high a cost, was bringing us nearer to a lasting victory.

On the current task of re-elections to the volost and village Soviets, Comrade Lenin stressed that all the difficulties of independent organisation of the working people from below would be overcome when everyone realised that the government must rely on the workers and the poor and middle peasants, who are not, our enemies, they are just wavering, and with the consolidation of the Soviet government they will side with us.

The cause we have begun, Lenin concluded, will be carried through by the workers of the whole world. (Prolonged applause.)